Jose Contreras is back in the Phillies’ bullpen eight months after undergoing elbow surgery that potentially could have ended the 40-year-old’s career last September.

It looked like Contreras’ return might be delayed when his first rehab appearance was an ugly one, but he quickly got on track in the minors and also proved that he was able to throw on back-to-back days.

Charlie Manuel told Paul Hagen of MLB.com that he plans to leave Chad Qualls in the primary right-handed setup man role for now and work Contreras back into the bullpen mix slowly, but as Contreras put it: “My health is good and my arm is good and I can help the team.”